If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

McLachlan told the Herald Sun he had met Clarkson at the Hawthorn coach’s request with no idea of the topic.

Then what sort of effin' idiot is he? And how incompetent are his PR advisors?

Seriously, in such a public role, when someone has been squealing like a stuck pig in the media and then asks to meet you for breakfast, do you agree without knowing why said stuck pig wants to meet with you, with no thought as to how it might play out in the media or the appearance it may create for your integrity?

There are really only two possibilities:

Gillon is a complete and utter imbecile, surrounded by an advisory staff composed entirely of complete and utter imbeciles; or

Gillon is a liar.

I don't know which is the case. But I do think that either answer raises questions about whether he is the right man for the job.

Watched Footy Classified this week. Caro, whom I usually respect, said that Longmire made a big deal of the umpiring in the 2016 GF. If I recall correctly, Longmire actually understated the umpire incompetence/crookedness and it was the media who, rightfully, made a big deal of it.

Actually, it was Matthew Lloyd who said that he had been 'reminded by Bulldog supporters that John Longmire had made a big deal of the umpiring after the 2016 Grand Final". Caro then said "actually, yes he did".

I would suggest that those Bulldog supporters may be trying to convince themselves that they didn't get a frankly embarrassing armchair ride in 2016 . Just because Bulldog supporters with chronic embarrassment say Longmire made a "big deal" of it doesn't make it true. And I would challenge both Lloyd and Wilson to point to comments where Longmire made it a "big deal". He was incredibly restrained. FFS, the Toorak Trillionaire still craps on about the 2002 Grand Final 16 years later. Longmire was restraint and diplomacy incarnate.

There's a thread on the main Big Footy board titled Will the Swans ever be crap. It starts off ok with some praise for our efforts at being highly competitive for over 20 years, but soon degenerates into a slag fest. Hijacked by North supporters, Hawk supporters, and Bulldog supporters. (my god they are obnoxious excrement) One particularly feral North bogan even made a joke about the night they beat us when Wally Jackson died on the boundary line.

Pretty much sums up the mentality of the average Big Footy poster. There are some intelligent people who post there, but on the whole they are diamonds in the rough. The majority manage to drag most bipartisan discussions down to @@@@ fight level within about a dozen posts.

This BS reminds me of why I gave up watching AFL for several months after the 2016 GF. There is so much arrogant collusion (blatant or just ignorant) in the AFL, look at the Fitzpatrick stuff with GWS and ANZ Stadium, the fact that MCG catering contracts that were never put up for tender have been owned by a family with strong connections to Essendon. The old bags of cash to pay off abuse victims in the old Carlton days, the trade ban, the usually lop sided free kick count vs any Melbourne side, that Hawks captain gets done for drink driving and gets effectively no penalty, but Powell-Pepper gets three weeks for contested incident at a night club...

Non-Melbourne sides just have to take it over and over again, what else are we going to do? Start up a rival competition?

Absolutely spot on. There is no way the CEO of any organisation should be meeting someone in Clarkson's position in any capacity other than a formal one. It smacks of perceived bias at the very least and is no way to engender faith or trust in your leadership capability.

- - - Updated - - -

Which is odd, because he's from Adelaide, but old money Adelaide, where the boys club and favours speak volumes. Isn't Clarkson from Adelaide too?

Actually, it was Matthew Lloyd who said that he had been 'reminded by Bulldog supporters that John Longmire had made a big deal of the umpiring after the 2016 Grand Final". Caro then said "actually, yes he did".

I would suggest that those Bulldog supporters may be trying to convince themselves that they didn't get a frankly embarrassing armchair ride in 2016 . Just because Bulldog supporters with chronic embarrassment say Longmire made a "big deal" of it doesn't make it true. And I would challenge both Lloyd and Wilson to point to comments where Longmire made it a "big deal". He was incredibly restrained. FFS, the Toorak Trillionaire still craps on about the 2002 Grand Final 16 years later. Longmire was restraint and diplomacy incarnate.

I saw Footy Classified and everything you've said here is spot on. Matthew Lloyd only commented that Bulldogs supporters were saying Longmire complained after the 2016 GF. I don't think he actually agreed with them whereas Caro did. I was surprised that she agreed. Firstly, because it's wrong. I though Longmire was extremely dignified after 2016. He may have "raised concerns" some time after the GF but was justified in doing so and didn't whinge like Clarkson. Secondly, I find that Caro is usually quite positive about the Swans. She speaks glowingly about our culture and was highly critical of the AFL's handling of Goodesy when it happened and still criticises them about it today.

Actually, it was Matthew Lloyd who said that he had been 'reminded by Bulldog supporters that John Longmire had made a big deal of the umpiring after the 2016 Grand Final". Caro then said "actually, yes he did".

I would suggest that those Bulldog supporters may be trying to convince themselves that they didn't get a frankly embarrassing armchair ride in 2016 . Just because Bulldog supporters with chronic embarrassment say Longmire made a "big deal" of it doesn't make it true. And I would challenge both Lloyd and Wilson to point to comments where Longmire made it a "big deal". He was incredibly restrained. FFS, the Toorak Trillionaire still craps on about the 2002 Grand Final 16 years later. Longmire was restraint and diplomacy incarnate.

There are a number of Bulldog supporters that brought this topic up over at BigFooty. Claiming hypocrisy from Longmire. The difference is that the Bulldogs were objectively favoured, the AFL reviewed the game and came to the conclusion that Sydney were on the wrong end of a number of incorrect calls. Just the thought of Bulldog supporters thinking that this is a similar situation really grinds my gears.

There are a number of Bulldog supporters that brought this topic up over at BigFooty. Claiming hypocrisy from Longmire. The difference is that the Bulldogs were objectively favoured, the AFL reviewed the game and came to the conclusion that Sydney were on the wrong end of a number of incorrect calls. Just the thought of Bulldog supporters thinking that this is a similar situation really grinds my gears.

Re Big Footy: I resorted to reading it to get my footy fix when RWO was offline for an extended period. Awful, like three year-olds fighting over a toy!

The quality of the main board is dreadful with one exception...the mighty Squiggle thread! This thread is much quieter now that the Squiggle is much more mature, but there is still some interesting commentary and analysis there. Would be better if some of the owners of other models that the Squiggle site tracks got on board. (see Squiggle - AFL Prediction & Analysis)

I presume the Swans board is ok, but I don't really read that because why would I? I have RWO!

Then what sort of effin' idiot is he? And how incompetent are his PR advisors?

Seriously, in such a public role, when someone has been squealing like a stuck pig in the media and then asks to meet you for breakfast, do you agree without knowing why said stuck pig wants to meet with you, with no thought as to how it might play out in the media or the appearance it may create for your integrity?

There are really only two possibilities:

Gillon is a complete and utter imbecile, surrounded by an advisory staff composed entirely of complete and utter imbeciles; or

Gillon is a liar.

I don't know which is the case. But I do think that either answer raises questions about whether he is the right man for the job.

Yes, the meeting does raise questions. You'd think that a competent and impartial administrator, would deal with the invite along these lines.
"So, why do you want to meet, Alastair? "
........
"Well, as much as I enjoy your company, I really can't be seen to be taking sides in this."
.......
"No, while I'm sure that you have genuine concerns, the best way for you to deal with it, would be to download the incidents that you have a problem with and send that off to the umpires department."
Etc, etc.

But instead we're left wondering what Gil's motives were. It is possible that he was totally oblivious and didn't think twice about a meeting: but I doubt that's the case.
One thing that I think is more likely, but have no way of knowing if it's true, was that he was giving tacit support to Clarkson. That is, after a coach, who already has a $15,000 suspended fine for umpire criticism, spends a number of media appearances criticising umpires, then it probably isn't possible for McLachlan to say that he's fine with that behaviour. However, if he has a public get together with Clarkson, his actions give approval to Clarkson's tantrum, without having to explicitly say so.